Customizing the Windows boot screen is something that Microsoft has never made easy. The fact that the images involved are hardcoded into system files is enough to put off all but the most seasoned of tweakers. Windows 7 Boot Updater is a free tool, currently in the early stages of beta, that can be used to customize the animation and text that are displayed during Windows' boot process.

The utility can be used in a few different ways, with the most basic options making it possible to simply change the default text from 'Starting Windows' and '© Microsoft Corporation' to anything of your choosing. You can also adjust the font size, color and position as well as choosing a background color other than the black default.

To take your tweaking to the next level, however, Windows 7 Boot Updater also enables you to hack the built in animation to anything you like. You do not have to work with pre-animated images as the program includes the option of using a series of static images, or you can opt to display a single static image instead --full details of image dimensions and formats are available at the Windows 7 Boot Updater web site.

The same options are available for the resume screen that is displayed when Windows is waking from sleep or hibernation modes. Applying such a tweak involves editing important system files, and automatic file backups are created to ensure that you can get your system back up and running in case the tweaking process should go wrong. Your completed animations and customization can be saved and shared with others.

Despite the safety checks that are built into the app, this is a piece of software that should be used with caution -- but for serious tweakers, it is a handy tool.

Find out more and download a free copy of this tweaking tool by paying a visit to the Windows 7 Boot Updater review page.